The Times’ NBA rankings
| RANKINGS, COMMENTS THROUGH SATURDAY |
| BIG DOGS | |
| 1. LAKERS (21-4) | It’s still not nice to upset Mother Nature, or Kobe. (2) |
| 2. BOSTON (20-5) | Not yet immortal: 11-0 run ends in home loss to . . . 76ers? (1) |
| 3. ORLANDO (20-7) | Nelson, the leader his young & restless teammates missed, nears return. (3) |
| NOT-AS-BIG DOGS | |
| 4. PHOENIX (18-9) | Suns end year against Celtics, Cavaliers, Lakers -- with six vs. top seven rest of way. (5) |
| 5. CLEVELAND (20-7) | Reportedly looking for major deal after missing out on Ariza, Stephen Jackson. (6) |
| 6. ATLANTA (19-7) | About to go 7-0, blew nine-point lead over Bulls in last 4:00 of regulation. (8) |
| 7. DENVER (19-8) | Like pre-Billups Era: He misses game with groin pull. They lose it to Hornets. (4) |
| 8. DALLAS (19-8) | Just went 5-0 with little Jose Barea starting alongside Kidd. (7) |
| 9. UTAH (16-11) | Looking more like old selves, all right. Still not much on defense, or road. (9) |
| 10. HOUSTON (16-11) | As if that’ll stop him: Landry, who was shot and came back, loses five teeth.(10) |
| 11. SAN ANTONIO (14-10) | Duncan, whose slow start at 33 had them worried, averages 22.5 in 5-1 run. (11) |
| 12. PORTLAND (16-12) | Would be 2-5 without Oden but for coming from 13 down in fourth quarter vs. Suns. (13) |
| 13. OKLAHOMA CITY (13-13) | It’s midnight, do you know where your pumpkin is? 1-4, headed here to play Lakers. (12) |
| 14. MIAMI (13-11) | Chalmers loses starting job to Arroyo for being late. Also for playing badly. (14) |
| 15. NEW ORLEANS (12-13) | Could be MVP every season: Hornets 5-3 since Chris Paul returned. (17) |
| 16. SACRAMENTO (12-14) | Omri Casspi, NBA’s first Israeli, becomes starter, gets 21-22 in first two. (18) |
| 17. CLIPPERS (12-14) | Great D: Iguodala can’t get game-winner off in time, missing by 0.1 of a second. (19) |
| DOG DAYS | |
| 18. MEMPHIS (11-15) | Randolph, Mayo, Conley, Gay, Gasol get 26-20-19-18-17 in win vs. Pacers. (21) |
| 19. MILWAUKEE (11-14) | Charlie Bell on Kobe? With the game on the line? Without help? (16) |
| 20. DETROIT (11-15) | Youth movement looks better as Stuckey happens, averaging 23 this month. (15) |
| 21. CHICAGO (10-15) | How could we have doubted you? Vinny safe again after beating Knicks, Hawks. (27) |
| 22. CHARLOTTE (10-15) | Diaw, a Brown favorite last season, in doghouse, down from 15-6-5 to 11-4-3. (20) |
| 23. NEW YORK (9-17) | Blew 17-point lead vs. Bulls, came from 19 down vs. Clippers -- in two nights. (23) |
| 24. INDIANA (9-16) | With doctors limiting playing time, Dunleavy averaging 15 on 11 shots a game. (22) |
| 25. TORONTO (12-17) | Bosh on Turkoglu’s start: “Not the best so far, to be frank.” (24) |
| 26. PHILADELPHIA (7-20) | 76ers go 2-1 as Williams, Speights return, Jordan finds rotation -- without injured AI. (28) |
| 27. WASHINGTON (8-17) | Got Miller, Foye to get over top. Both near free agency and top’s nowhere in sight. (25) |
| DOG-GONE | |
| 28. MINNESOTA (5-22) | Going from pathetic to competitive with Love back, triangle phased out. (29) |
| 29. GOLDEN STATE (7-19) | Fans boo Maggette and Radmanovic because front office, the real culprit, isn’t out there.(26) |
| 30. NEW JERSEY (2-26) | Kiki’s coach-of-year candidacy fades as 2-1 start precedes 0-7 return to normalcy. (29) |
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